He said: “Thank you to everyone who has donated so far as it is greatly appreciated.

“No matter what we see on the news this is proof that there is much more good than bad in the world.

“Dalmatian Welfare essentially just lifted all the worry of the past four days off my shoulders. Worry that was triggering small seizures in me.

“Riggs stopped being able to walk over the past four days and was limping bad and his leg was shaking. So they need to see what is going on. It may just be his arthritis got really bad out of the blue or there is something else.”

Jonathan Pettus's dog Riggs. Picture: COURTESY OF JONATHAN PETTUS

Mr Pettus said the dog had been a help to him in more ways than one in relation to his epilepsy, a condition which affects the brain and causes frequent seizures.

He said: “Riggs has been a comfort to me through many seizures and, while not trained has an epilepsy dog, he has shined a few times and alerted me that something was wrong.

“When I have had a big one he has just laid with me. Especially the big seizure back in July of 2017 when I was laid up for a month after pulling all my muscles.

“Stress is a huge trigger for epilepsy and Riggs, as all dogs are, is a huge stress reliever. Every day stress can get to us and that is what dogs are great for.”

Mr Pettus and Riggs have undertaken many walks to highlight the condition of epilepsy, and raised more than £1,800 for Epilepsy Action, which can be found online at www.epilepsy.org.uk.